My neighborhood got a farmer’s market!

My neighborhood got a farmer’s market!

Why having a farmers market makes for the start of a sustainable neighborhood

This past Saturday, a brand new farmer’s market started IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD.

If you’ve been following me a while, you may know that I used to go to a farmer’s market every Sunday, where I had worked it out with one of the farmers to get me fruits and veggies with no packing every week by providing them with reusable bags that I came to pick up, chock full of local goodies. But since I moved to a new home back in April, that farmer’s market became quite far; about 25 minutes by car, or an hour or so by bike on a busy highway road. Since then, I’ve been struggling to keep local, fresh fruit and veggies in my diet.

But that problem is no more!

I had to go to the grand opening of the new farmer’s market starting just a 5-minute bike ride away from my home. What was a little strip mall with stores that I’ve never ever visited since I moved in (with the exception of a little Thai restaurant), there is now a ~10 stall farmer’s market with 4-5 local fruit and veggie vendors, a couple of hand-crafted goods shops, a native plant shop, and a few eatery/coffee type places every Saturday.

As I walked through the stalls, admiring all the fresh, local goods I’ve been missing out on, I thought about what it is about farmer’s markets that I love so much. They are so much more than just a place to buy stuff.

Supporting Your Community

Some people complain that you could just go buy bananas at Costco for half the price of the local ones, but to me, it’s important to look beyond what’s leaving your pocket. The world is one big human community, but I’ve rarely had a time when I’ve thought “Thank god I’m buying these Safeway bananas that come from South America so I can help out a farmer there.” With local farmers, I know these are people who live near me (within an hour drive or so, anyway). I know that when I buy from them, I’m supporting a neighbor. I’m helping out someone who works with the land in my area to help produce foods that are healthy and delicious for me to eat. Not to mention I get to talk to them face-to-face and get to know the man or woman that is working hard to produce the delicious papaya or spinach that I’m buying. Supporting this person in front of me help to feed their family and the connection I feel to my food just feels right.

Better for the Planet

Less plastic wrapped food. Less miles traveled on a refrigerated truck/ship/airplane. Less electricity used in factories to process the food. All this means less pollution for the planet, which means a healthier world for me and everything else.

Healthier

Pretty much for all the reasons above, you’re getting foods that are less processed. No weird waxy stuff on your apples, no plastic chemicals leeching into my veggies, and less chemical fertilizers. To me, less machines and more care put into my food just makes for tastier, healthier, and honest food.

Connection With Your Local Community

One of my favorite aspects of the farmer’s market? You get to actually meet your neighbors! I enjoy walking around the stalls and chatting up the people around me looking at veggies, or talking to the shop owner to hear about what they made or grew. There’s so much pride from the vendors about the things they’re selling. There’s just an energy and excitement that you just don’t get at the supermarket from the people that are there. It’s fun! And you get to meet people that live in your neighborhood that you never would’ve met otherwise.

Yay farmer’s markets!

Do you have a farmer’s market in your community? If you do, I’d highly recommend you try visiting it from time to time. Try getting to know a few people there. The happiness you gain from the connection will be worth it. Even if chatting with people isn’t your thing, just being out in a crowd of your community just feels nice. In a world where we’re constantly more “social” on the internet than we are in person, a community center like a farmer’s market is just the thing to bring back real, true “social” into our lives.